Music timing apparatus



Oct. 4, 1949. R. D. BERGEY I 2,4 3,570

MUSIC TIMING APPARATUS Filed April 24, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet l Oct. 4, 1949. R. D. BERGEY v 2,483,570

MUSIC TIMING APPARATUS Filed April' 24, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FWD LIN; Home Ham's QEV- wwfi J 3 70 w J o o o menial? Oct. 4, 1949. R. D. BERGEY MUSIC TIMING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed April 24, 1945 Oct. 4, 1949. R. D. BERGEY 2,483,570

MUSIC TIMING APPARATUS Filed Apr il 24, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 O o D I 6 6 A -2 6 K 7 9 M 126' ZV -w 15:4 j

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Patented Oct. 4, 1949 y 'UNl'TED STATES are I OFF ice MUSIC TIMING ABRARAITUS Raymond n. Ber-gey, ouilingaa ar ApplicationApril 24, 1945, Serial No. 590,013

tMy; invention: relates: to new: and useful methods: of writing music and means for timing the same andvhas for one of its objectsto provide meansi forldepicting. musical compositions in any andiall.playing;-arrd singingtimes.

iilnoth'er object of theei-nvention is to provide a strip of material having graduations thereon, one. or: more of; which represent; thespaces betweerrnotes :of lowest. time: value and multiplesthereofi represent notes ofhigher time valuesz;

vAnother: objectof the invention} is to. provide'a: strip of materiallhaving: graduations thereon; one on more, or which representthe playing time between notes of lowest value, and, multiples thereot representing: the playing; time. between notes ofnhighenvalues.

.=Another: object ofthisninvention is to provide a strip I of material having musicalsymb 01s thereon arranged to visually convey toa player the timebetween various notes of a score and to synchronize playing. between two-:or more. players.

Another object of the invention is: toprovide a strip. of? material having musical notes with the stems-0f all .of them reaching an edge of the strip incombination with means cooperating withthe stems: to indicate the time when the respective notes are; to be played thus properly and accurately timing the entirev musical'score.

:Another object of the present invention is to provide a sheet. of material having musicalnotes thereon and apertures therein associated with said notes,.in combination with signals of different: colors visible through said apertures to indicate when each note should be played and the moment the playing should stop and the periods of rest.

Another object of the; invention is to eliminate alli'confusing symbols and lines from amusical composition in order to simplify the reading of atraveling strip bearing the various. notes and other symbols;

Another object of the invention is to provide.

means for expediting the musical education of students and produce more accurate andia higher quality of playing for the scholar.

Another object of this invention is: to; form. all

of the-musical notes of the same character regardless of time value.

Another object of the invention is to. project frequency-tract to assist aperson to'quickly and.

7 Claims. (01. 84 4.84.)

easily read) the notes; in: time without giving. any thought-as to. their timeelements.v

Another object of the invention is to provide. a strip of material in endless belt formzwithgradnationsithereonsothatanyone may depict chosen musical notesupon the-same, orv with musical notesd'epicted thereon for repeat performance,

as a-lpractice exercise.

A:- funther. object. of. this invention is. to. provide apparatus'for moving a; strip of material, bearing musical notes, either in a progressive or a reverse idirection, actuated: at, variable speeds controlled; by manual or automatic mechanism.

A still further object of the invention is taprovidameans: in: the; apparatusto, indicate the time whennotes are tote-played, such ind-icator comprising arnarr-ow lineof light.

with the above; and other objects. in view this invention consists: of the; details: of. construction and, combination. of elements hereinafter ,set forth and-then designated 'by the claims.

In order that those skilled in the art to which this. invention appertains may understand how to-wmake. and: use the: same, I will describe the.

formations in detail referring by numerals to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof,.

in which-.-

Fig. 1: is; a, strip of; material having staffsand a strip of-materia1l to'travel f0rWard1yorbackwardly past, indicator and. signal lights, said apparatus being; capable Ofi automatic control after being started;

Fig. 6: is a v face: View. of a plate constituting a portion: of the indicator; signal and automatic controlt Fig, '7 is aview of'themechanism-inside of the "apparatus witlr. thev electrical controls illustrated diagrammatically.

Fig; this; a vertical sectional view: through the casing of the apparatus in the region of the indicator and signal, without the operating and some: elements of the control mechanism.

Fig. 9 is an enlarged detail face view of a portion of a strip of material showing the formation of a single musical note and the apertures relative thereto for producing the go or play and stop signals.

Fig. 10 is a view of the automatically and manually controlled mechanism for the inside of an apparatus with the electrical equipment illustrated diagrammatically.

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary sectional elevation of one of the pintle structures for receiving the spools.

Fig. 12 is a, top end view thereof.

Fig. 13 is a fragmentary sectional view of the control plate illustrating a modified means for changing the direction of travel of the strip of material.

In carrying out my invention as herein embodied l5 represents a strip of material, such as paper, having one or more musical staffs delineated thereon. For purposes of illustration I have shown to staffs, one above the other, of five lines each and constituting the treble stall I6 and the base staff I1.

These staffs are suitably spaced from each other and particularly from adjacent edges of the strip of material thus leaving room for the delineation of the bars I8 between the staffs and spaces for the low frequency tracts outside of the staffs as well as places for notes above the treble staff and below the base staff.

Referring particularly to Fig. 1, I provide graduation marks I9 equally spaced along one or both edges of the strip I5 that a person can easily copy music from any source and write it onto the strip for use in either ribbon or belt form on an apparatus to be presently described. In this case space between two or more of the graduations are taken to represent the time value or playing time between notes of lowest value and proper multiples thereof are then used to represent the time values or playing times between notes of higher values. In actual practice, the graduations should be shown in very light lines so as not to interfere with the playing of the notes which are written on the strip.

It might be well to state at this time that whenever a strip of material is referred to, it is to include a ribbon form thereof that can be wound upon spools or an endless band that travels like a belt over spools or pulleys.

In an original musical composition the notes 26 are delineated on the staff or staffs in proper order as illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. All of the notes are depicted in the same identical manner and their time values are determined by the spacing thereof on the strip of material and the speed at which said strip passes a preselected point or indicator.

On the forward end of the strip are any of the various signatures 2|, Fig. 2, and at several locations throughout the length of the musical piece, between the staffs, are notations 22, Figs. 2 and 4. Also symbols 23 representing a phrase, Fig. 3, as well as those denoting rests 24, Fig. 4, are placed wherever necessary or desirable. The unique rest symbols each comprise a block having an inner edge of the general outline of a bracket such as used in printing, with the major portion solid leaving a space for the letter "R and an arrow at the forward end. A triplet symbol 25 is an oblong open figure as shown in Fig. 4, and embraces the note stems.

As previously stated, every note 20 is identical, including chords, in that they are of the same configuration, regardless of time value, that is, each note consists of a head, either solid or open and of desirable shape, preferably round, and a stem which projects outside of the staff relative to the edges of the strip of material. In other words each note stem of the upper or treble staff projects above said staff while each note stem in the base or lower staff projects below its staff. All of the stems extend to the edges of the strip of material or a line, real or imaginary, adjacent and parallel the edge of said strip of material.

'The portions of the stems which are located within the spaces outside of the staffs, or above and below the treble and base staffs, respectively,

form the low frequency tracts, and controls the timing of all notes as they are played, when played as they pass a predetermined point or indicator, to be hereinafter described.

Where the strip of material is to be used in conjunction with go or play and stop signals employing light rays of different colors, one set of apertures 26 are formed in the strip in line with the notes or in the note stems, Fig, 2, and

1 another set of apertures 21 are formed in the strip in locations following the notes or note stems.

In order to automatically control the movements of the strip of material l5 for causing the same to travel forwardly and also in a reverse direction for rewinding, said strip of material has holes 28 Fig. 5 and 7 at the forward end thereof and other holes 29, Figs. 5 and 13 at the rear end of the same to allow the closing of an electric circuit, to be presently described. In actual practice the pairs of holes are not as close together as shown in Fig. 5 but they are thus depicted here for purposes of illustration only.

For propelling the strip of material in a progressive or retrograde direction, I provide certain apparatus including, for example, a case or cabinet 30, Figs. 5 and 8, having one'or more hinged parts, as represented by the door 3I, for easy access to the interior of said cabinet. Within the cabinet are mounted two vertically spaced brackets 32 and 33, Figs. 7, 8 and 10, and may be secured to the back wall by screws 34 passing through holes 35 in the toes 36 of said brackets.

A plate or panel I60, Figs. 6 and 8, is mounted inside of the cabinet adjacent the front thereof, preferably between the brackets 32 and 33. Said plate or panel has two openings or windows I6! which, combined, have approximately the same area as the sight opening I62 in the front or door 3I of the cabinet, Fig. 5, and with which they are in alignment. There is sufficient material between the windows to allow for the formation of a slot I63 which is directly behind the location of the short slots I64 extending above and below the sight opening in the front of the cabinet.

Mounted on back of the panel or plate I66 and disposed across the middle portion of the slot is a sheet of red material I65. Above and below the red sheet are sheets of green material I66 and I6! and above and below the respective top and bottom green sheets are white sheets I68 or these portions of the slot may be left uncovered. While I have referred to red and green colored sheets it is obvious that other suitable contrasting colors can be used. A light I69 inside of the cabinet is controlled by a switch I10 located on the front of the said cabinet.

Electrical contacts Ill, I12, I13 and I74 may be mounted on the frame behind holes in the plate or panel 160 01" on said panel as shown'in Fig. 6, and in thelattercasdifthe panel is of-inetal, said contacts are insulated as shown at H5. These contacts are arranged" inpairs with one member above the other in each pair.

On the upper bracket 32 are mounted the roundpintles 81, one' adiacent-each endg'and on the lower bracket 33 are mounted the ilat pintles 38, directly in line with the round ones. One set of pintles, asthe -fiat ones 33', are constructedfor retraction and projection to permit easy assembly or removal of the spools' or reels 39 therefrom. A form 'of construction suitable-for this purpose is shown in Figs. 11am l-Zywheroin the fiatpintle fl is carried by a cap "49 slidably mounted on a post '41 toW-hich it maybe-keyed or splined and said cap is urged outwardly by a spring 42.

The fiat pintles-38 are to be revolved for transmitting motionto the spools-or reels and thestrip of material thereon, so the posts 4! are mounted insui t'able bearings 43 attached to the cabinet,or some "component part thereof, and 'each post 4! carries a gear M.

'Now -referring particularly to Fig. '7, the gears 44 mesh withpinions '45 on the shafts of separate motors E5 and M. The motor 46 is the progressive motor and the motor s1 is the-reversing one.

' A conductor 47 leadsirom one side of the motor Mi to-asp'eed regulator Ad -such as a variable res'istance or chokecoil, and from the speed regulatorleads a conductor 56 to one'side of the line or source 'of electricals'upply. From the other side of the line or source of supply leads a-co-nduster-5| to acontact terminal '52 of a dual relay and saidnonduct-or -5-l has a switch 53 interposed therein. A "companion contact terminal 54 is connected by conductor 55 with theother side of the motor 45 The :gapbetween "the contact terminals 52 and 5A is-closed by the contact blade 56 when moved in the-proper direction.

The contact blade 56 is-connectecl with another contact blade 5-1401 movement in unison and said blades are actuated in that direction which will cause the contact blade '55 to engage the contact terminals 52 and 55 by the solenoid '58 having one side connected by a conductor 59 with the conductor 5!. The other side of the solenoid 58 is connected by a conductor 69 with the conductor 6l that leads in one direction to'the contact terminal 62 of a single relay 63 and also leads in another direction to a'push button 6 5. A retaining contact "65 is located in the circuit which includes' the conductor 6 i, and is a part of the relay. From the conductor 59 leads a conductor Bate the "Contact terminal '61 and its companioncontact terminal 68 is connected by a conductor '69 witha cut-out switch which, in turn, is connectedbya conductor H with one side of'the motbiTl. The other side of said motor 41 is connected by a-co'nductor 12 with the conductor *55. A- conductonlil is also connected to the conductor 50 and leads to the contact terminal I' l associated withthecontact terminal 62.

Tl-he gap between the contact terminals-fl and M isnormally closed by the contact blade controlled-by the solenoid lt of therel'ay "63 "which, under' 'certain conditionsis energized "by a current in "a circuit including a conductor '11 le'adi-ng from the conductor 5| to said solehold, *-and 'a' conductor '18 leading from the solenoid "l6 toone of the reversing contacts, "as ITAiFig'it. Another conductor '19 is common'to theoth'erreversing contact, asll3, and one of "the forwardor progressive "contacts, as I! I and saidconductor :19. is tapped onto :thwoonduotor 60 vat conductor as throughtheitap '80, and with one side of another push button 83; whose other side is connec'ted torthe conductor 18. For completing circuitsthrough the pair of. contacts I1 I and 112 or Inland H4, spring contacts or fingers '84 and 8'5 are shown, Fig; 8, and these are electrically connected, as by a conductor 86.

ilh'e material strip 15 travels over the "front face-of the 1 plate or panel I and behind the springfingers es. and so that said fingers-pro- I videa desirable tension .upon the material strip ain'dcthe latter normally holds the spring fingers out'oi engagement with their respective contacts Iii-l, I121, in and 1T4. Whenever the pairs-of meme or 29 sin the materialstrip come into alignment. with said contacts and spring fingers, the latter engage the contacts to'completeicertain circuits as set'forth below.

To start 'the operationv '01. the apparatus tthe master switch 53 isclosed but the switch ':'l:0.:is temporarily left open. Now by pressingrthepush button 64 a-circuit will :be momentarily "completed through conductors '5 l and 59xto the relayssolenoid 58, thence through conductor *fi'n andlil' hy the push button 64 and finally through conductor t2 and tap '89 to theconductor 50. IThis Willi-open the gap between the contact terminals 161 "and '68 so'thatthe switch 16 may be closed toiplace the reversing motor 41 in a stillxopen acircuit,.and simultaneously close the gap between the contact terminals '52 and 54 and placethe-retalning contact in operativepositio'n. J This will close a circuit through conductor 5|, relay blade '56; and conductor 55'to one side of the forward propelling motor 46 and-from the other side of said motor through conductor and speed regulator 49 to conductor 50, causing said motor tooperatefiand rotate the spool '39 at the left hand side of Fig; I which'will wind the materialstrip on said spool to cause -the strip to travel forwardly.

The circuit of the motor 46 will be maintained even after the push button 64 is released and so long as the retaining contact 65 is held inits operative position which is accomplished 'by a circuit including conductors 5i and 59, solenoid 58, conductors 6'0 and =6l through said retaining contact "65 to the contact terminal 52, across the contact blade 15 of the *relay 63 to the contact terminal 14, and conductors T3 and5ll.

Should it be desired to reverse the material strip at any time, the push'button-83 is actuated and 14 thus opening the circuit of the dual relay and causing the contact blades 56 and .51 to retract, therefore the circuit to the .motor .46 will be broken. At the same'time the contact blade 51 will bridge the gap between the contact terminals 6! and 68 to close the reversing motor circuit through the conductors El, 59, E6 to the contact terminal 61, thence through the blade 51 to the contact terminal 68 and through conductor 69, switch '10 and conductor II to the motor and finally through conductors 12. and .55. The material strip will now be run in the .reve-rsedirection until the reversing motor is stoppedandthe forward motor "46 again started, as previously described, or the material strip is completely re- 7 wound on the spool or reel 39 at the right hand side of Fig. 7.

The starting and rewinding of the material strip can also be accomplished automatically. In such a case, the forward end of the material strip is attached to the spool or reel 39 at the left hand side and enough of the strip wound on the spool at the left hand side until the forward holes 28, Fig. 5, align with the contacts Ill and I12, Fig. 6. Then the switch I is opened or noted that it is open and the master switch 53 is closed to complete a circuit through conductors SI and 50 to the dual relay solenoid 58, thence through conductors 00, SI and 8I to the contact I'I2, Fig. 6, through spring finger 85, Fig. 8, conductor 86, spring finger 84, conductors I9, 80 and 50. This will start the motor 46 and cause the material strip to travel forwardly. When the holes 29 in the material sheet reach the contacts I13 and I14, Fig. 6, a circuit will be momentarily completed through conductors 50, 80, and I9, contact I'I3, a pair of spring fingers 84 and 85 and their associated conductors 88, contact I14, conductor IS, the solenoid I0 of the relay 03, and conductors TI and This will open the circuit to the forward motor 46 and close the circuit to the reversing motor 41, as previously described, thus rewinding the material strip.

In lieu of the contacts I'II, I12, I73 and H4, arranged in pairs, single contacts can be used as shown in Fig. 13. Here a single forward con tact Illa is connected to the common conductor 19 and a spring finger 84a for the conductor 8!. Likewise a single reversing contact II3a is provided and connected with the common conductor I9 while the spring finger 84b for cooperation with the contact I73a, is connected with the conductcr 18. These single contacts, when wired as described will function in a manner similar to the paired contacts for placing the motors 46 and 41 in operation alternately.

The material strip can be propelled and reversed by mechanism, including a single motor as illustrated in Fig. 10. With this form of the apparatus a pinion 31 meshed with the gear 44 for revolving the forward or propelling pintle structure at the left hand side of Fig. 10. Said pinion 81 is mounted on a shaft 88 journalled in suitable bearing such as shown at 89. On the shaft 88 is fixed one member 00 of a clutch to be selectively engaged by a two-way intermediate clutch member 9, which is splined to the shaft 02 of the motor 93, for rotation with said motor shaft and longitudinal sliding movements thereon. The two-way intermediate clutch member 9| also coacts with another clutch member 94 loosely or revolvably mounted on the motor shaft and said last named clutch member 94 carries a sprocket wheel 95 or an equivalent, such as a pulley.

A second pinion 96 meshes with the gear 44 for revolving the reversing pintle 38 at the right hand side of Fig. 10. This pinion 95 is fixed to a shaft 9'! journalled in suitable bearings 98, which shaft also carries a sprocket wheel 09 or an equivalent, such as a pulley. A chain I00 passes over the sprocket wheels for transmitting motion from one to the other, especially from the sprocket :35 to the sprocket 99. Where pulleys are substituted for the sprockets, a belt is used instead of the chain.

The two-way intermediate clutch member 05 is manually actuated by the lever action It pivoted at I02 or by the armature plate I03 located between opposed electromagnets I04 and I05, or their equivalents.

A motor circuit in- 8. cludes a conductor I06 from one side of a line or source of electric current to one side of the motor 93, a conductor I07 from the other side of the motor to the speed regulator 49a, and conductors I08 and I09 back to the other Side of the line or source of current.

A circuit for the electromagnets I04 includes the conductor I09 leading to one side of the coils, a conductor I I0 leading from the coils to the forward automatic contact I I I, thence to the spring fingers such as previously described and shown in Fig. 8, then to the companion forward automatic contact II2, to conductor II3 to conductor H4 and finally to the conductor I06, to energize the coils of magnets I04 to throw in the clutch for running the material strip in a forward direction.

A circuit for the electromagnets I05 includes the conductor I00 leading to one side of the coils of magnets I05, a conductor II5 leading from the coils to the rear automatic contact I I6, thence to the spring fingers, such as previously described and shown in Fig. 8, then to the companion rear or reversing contact M1, to conductor M4, to conductor I05, to energize the coils of magnets i 05 to throw in the clutch 94 for reversing the direction of travel of the material strip.

A push button H8 is shunted across the con-- ductors H0 and II3 by conductors H9 and I20 so that said push button I I8 is in parallel with the contacts I II and H2, to also energize the coils of magnets I04 to thrown in the clutch 90 for causthe material strip to travel in a forward direction.

Another push button I2I is shunted across the conductors H3 and I I5 by conductors I22 and I23 so that said push button I2I is in parallel with the contacts H6 and II I, to also energize the coils of magnets I05 to throw in the clutch 04 for re versing the direction of travel of the material strip. Gther forms of motive power can be used, such as a spring, air or other motor.

A lamp I24 is provided to furnish the necessary light for making the notes on the material strip visible, producing the line light indicator and providing the differently colored signals. A circuit for this lamp may include a conductor I25 leading from the conductor II3 to said lamp, a conductor I26 from the lamp to a switch I21 and a conductor I 28 from said switch I2I' to the conductor I09.

From he o ing it will be apparent that I have eliminated all lines and data, except the notes, usually contained within the staffs and which are generally very confusing to the player, especially a beginner or student of music. Instead of crowding all signs, data and lines in the staffs, I place the bars I8 and some data between said staffs and dispose other data within the low frequency tracts above and below the upper and lower staffs respectively. This simplifies and improves the reading of the notes as they travel before the eyes of a player. Further, since all of the notes are depicted alike and the distances from one another control their time value, in

conjunction with the speed at which the material strip travels, the player is not required to give any thought to time but merely to play the notes as the stem portions within the low frequency tract reach a preselected location shown by an indicator preferably comprising a relatively thin illuminated line, referred to as a line light. Another way to indicate when to play and stop playing is by the use of the indicating signals of different or contrasting colors which become visible, alternately, through the apertures in the material strip.

In actual practice a material strip having any desired musical composition depicted thereon is placed in the machine and said machine started. Thereafter the material strip will travel forwardly at a predetermined speed, or a preselected speed according to or compatible with the spacing of the notes on said material strip. By playing each note as it reaches the indicating means, the time of the composition is unconsciously maintained by the player in accordance with the measure of the piece of music.

Of course, I do not wish to be limited to the exact details of construction, herein shown and described as these may be varied within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new and useful is:

1. In a device of the character described, the combination with a light, of an opaque material strip having musical staffs and notes thereon and movable past the light, said strip having an aperture at each note to indicate the playing of such note when the light becomes visible through the aperture.

2. The structure of claim 1 wherein the material strip has additional apertures, one adjacent to and spaced behind each note.

3. In a device of the character described, the combination with differently colored lights, of an opaque material strip having musical staffs and notes thereon and movable past said differently colored lights, said strip having an aperture at each note to indicate the playing of such note when a light of one color becomes visible through the aperture at the note, and said strip further having an additional aperture adjacent to and following the location of the note to indicate when to stop playing said note as a light of a difierent color becomes visible through said additional aperture.

4. In a device of the character described, the

combination of a fixed source of light, and a strip 4 of opaque material movable past said source of light and having musical staffs and notes on the 10 outer face to be visible to a musician, said strip having apertures positioned at the note locations to indicate that said notes are to be played as the light becomes visible successively through the apertures.

5. In a device of the character described, a light located in a fixed position, and an apertured strip of material movable past said light to cause the latter to intermittently become momentarily visible, said apertures being positioned according to musical time in relation to the speed of travel of the strip, and said strip having musical stafis and notes depicted thereon in the region of the apertures.

6. Music timing means comprising, a combination, a fixed light, an appreciably long strip of opaque material movable past said light only in one direction during functional operation, and a musical staff and notes depicted on the obverse face of said strip, said strip having apertures therethrough in the region of the notes to indicate the instant each note is to be played.

7. The music timing means according to claim 6 in combination with mechanical means to propel the strip of material forwardly at a constant speed of travel.

RAYMOND D. BERGEY.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 585,681 Latta July 6, 1897 1, 20,171 Trist Dec. 8, 1914 1,324,277 Schantz Dec. 9, 1919 ,559,758 Little Nov. 3, 1925 1,571,110 Ebert et a1. Jan. 26, 1926 1,607,226 Wood Nov. 16, 1926 1,642,810 Grimaldi Sept. 20, 1927 1,837,948 Carpenter Dec. 22, 1931 2,223,009 Rupp et a1. Nov. 26, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 131,710 Australia Feb. 10, 1933 

